Icewind's Ramblings

Icewind’s Ramblings takes a look at the oddities in life through humor, stories, and observations on the human condition. It can cover almost anything and is seen through the eyes of a Southerner who now lives in Alaska experiencing life from a “Northern Exposure”. Laughter and a smile is the best medicine for the long dark winter nights in this wonderful world.
Southern by Birth, Alaskan by the Grace of God.
I enjoy flying, fishing, & camping.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Some of you may
know what I am talking about and some may have to look it up but one thing is
certain, like Gibbs I live by the cup, all day long.

I have an auto
start on my coffee maker and I can always be found with a cup of coffee. I like my coffee not just as a pick me up but
I love the smell and taste of really good coffee. I credit this to my mother as she gave us "Good
to the last Drop" Maxwell House Master Blend growing up and I have always
gone to great lengths to find it all of my life.

For many of us we
try to learn from our mistakes and life our lives a certain way and in many
ways we may or may not have them written down anywhere. For one of my favorite antagonist there is a
set of rules written down and over the years many have been revealed to the
followers and fans.

One of my
favorites is Rule # 5 . . . You Don't Waste Good!

Now this can be
taken in so many contexts and is open for interpretation for those looking at
it but for me it has meaning.

I'll leave it up
to you to find your meaning and if you care to post it that is fine too and
while I wait I think I will sit here and drink my coffee . . . which is still
"Good to the last Drop!"

Chances are that when you opened this page you saw the
photograph first, in the same second that you saw the headline. When you look at it and read the caption,
isn't it easy to imagine the grandfather buried beneath that headstone,
wherever he is, taking great joy in the grandchildren who visit his grave?

Today we honor the dead who served, from those killed in
battle to those who died peacefully decades after their days in uniform. Flags and flowers mark this day. Salutes and prayer. Memories of loved ones.

And moments of silence, wherein we can hear the rustle of
wreaths on stone, breath of wind stirring a halyard, bird song.

In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln said that "we can not dedicate
-- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled
here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract."

So it is at any memorial site, whether among the white
headstones at Arlington National Cemetery, Fort Richardson or the flag on the
Park Strip in downtown Anchorage.

But look again at the photograph. At their grandfather's grave site, those kids
are on the edge of play. That's not
disrespect. That's life. That's freedom.

That's the promise that their grandfather and millions of others
have kept for the rest of us.

Picture Caption

DARON DEAN / Anchorage Daily News archive 2005

Augustine Hamner, 6, hugs her grandfather’s headstone as her
brother John, 2, straightens his flag and mom Grace watches on Memorial Day in
2005 at FortRichardsonNationalCemetery. “She knows the
reason her granddad is here,” said Robert Hamner, her father. Hamner said just
knowing his dad was a good man, who brought him up right makes Memorial Day
special to him. Augustine, who had been to the cemetery before, looked at the
headstones and asked, “Why are there more?”

America's
roll call of the fallen

620,000-- Number of troops killed, counting both Union and Confederate sides, in the Civil War.

405,399 -- Number killed in World War II.

116,516 -- Number killed in World War I.

58,209 -- Number killed in Vietnam War.

54,246 -- Number killed during Korean War.

13,283 -- Number killed during Mexican War.

4,435 -- Number killed in Revolutionary War.

6,648 -- Number killed in Iraq War (Operation Iraqi Freedom)
since 2003.

2,446 -- Number killed in Spanish-American War.

2,260 -- Number killed in War of 1812.

2,133 -- Number killed in Afghanistan War (Operation
Enduring Freedom) since 2002.

382 -- Number killed in Persian Gulf War.

Sources: US Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, Washington Post, Anchorage
Daily News. Note: Numbers for current wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan
as of May 20. List does not include service members killed in smaller military
operations, such as Lebanon,
Somalia and Panama,
who also are remembered today.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Sometimes we don't feel good . . . it could be from sickness
or just feeling lousy in general but within that yucky feeling there may
sometimes be something else going on where you find it within yourself to
change it up a bit and it's pleasant what can happen, both in your mind and body.

Is a little TLC in order or is it something like feeling bad
sometimes is like getting to scratch an itch that you've been trying to ignore
for a while. Like a mosquito bite.

If you scratch it though, it keeps on itching, and then you
scratch it again, and again, until it becomes an open sore. Keep picking at it and it gets worse.

I know it gives a very temporary feeling of relief to scratch, but only
prolongs the itch.

My advice?

Just like the mosquito bite, don't give in to the urge to
scratch it, and it starts to go away much faster.

Get a little TLC and you will feel much better hopefully
sooner than later.

Thursday, May 09, 2013

It is great being
back at work again and I am getting into the grind of putting bids out to get
projects done around Alaska
this summer. The group that I am working
with are great and now that my official State of Alaska email is up and running
I have started to receive emails 'welcoming' me to DPS and 'congrats' on the
new job replacing a long time employee who is retiring at the end of the month.

My first email
this morning was from one of the troopers who sent this to me so I know I will
fit in just fine with this bunch of characters.

Missing Wife Found by AlaskaState
Troopers

The day after his wife disappeared in a kayaking accident, an Anchorage man answered
his door to find two grim faced Alaska State Troopers. "We're sorry Mr.
Wilkens, but we have some information about your wife," said one of the
troopers.

"Tell me! Did you find her?" Wilkens asked.

The troopers looked at each other.

One said, "We have some bad news, some good news, and some
really great news. Which would you like to hear first?"

The trooper said, "I'm sorry to tell you, sir, but this
morning we found your wife's body in KachemakBay."

"Oh my God!" said Wilkens.

Swallowing hard, he asked, "What's the good news?"

The trooper continued, "When we
pulled her up, she had 12 twenty pound King crabs and 6 good-sized Dungeness
crabs clinging to her, and we feel you are entitled to a share in the
catch."

Stunned, Mr. Wilkens demanded,
"If that's the good news, then what's the great news?"

The trooper smiled and said, "We're
gonna pull her up again tomorrow."

As you can see I think I will fit
right in with this group and I am sure there will be some pretty interesting
things that will happen around this great big wilderness we call home, Alaska.

Meeting all the new people and
starting my travels around to the different facilities is on tap for me over
the next couple weeks. I will be seeing
what needs to be done and making introductions so I can bid the work.

Springtime in Alaska . . . and I just received the notice
that summer will be on a Saturday this year, probably the third week of July.